June 1, 1997: Juventus- Lazio 2-2
- Dag Jenkins
- Jun 1
- 9 min read
Everyone happy
Juventus go 2-0 up but are too busy celebrating and Lazio snatch a late draw
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 3rd (UEFA) under manager Zdeněk Zeman. The highlights were beating Juventus 4-0, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Fiorentina 4-0 and especially Roma 1-0, all at home. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 26 goals (24 in A).
This year the Bohemian stayed on. The main new signings were South African defender Mark Fish (Orlando Pirates), midfielders Pavel Nedved (Sparta Prague) and Paul Okon (Club Bruges) plus forward Igor Protti (Bari), previous year's top Serie A scorer with Signori.
Leaving were defender Cristiano Bergodi (Padova), midfielders Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea), Aron Winter (Inter) plus forwards Alen Boksic (Juventus) and Marco Di Vaio (Bari-on loan).
The Serie A campaign had started very badly with two defeats (Bologna 0-1 away and Udinese 0-1 at home). After that they were very inconsistent with 6 wins (including Milan 3-0), 5 draws (including the derby 0-0 and Inter 1-1 away) and 5 defeats. The last defeat to Bologna 1-2 at home on January 26 had cost Zeman his job and back came Dino Zoff.
Since Zoff's return the Biancocelesti had won 9 (including Salernitana 6-1), drawn 4 (including derby 1-1 and Milan 2-2 away) and lost 2. Lazio were currently in 4th place on 54 points, with 20 points on the relegation zone (before the change of manager Lazio had been joint 12th, with Udinese, and with only a five-point cushion on the drop zone) and guaranteed a UEFA Cup position. Things had gone a lot better.
Lazio had started their Coppa Italia campaign on August 28 and had won 1-0 away at Avellino. Next, they played Verona away on October 23 and won 2-1. Then came the quarter finals in November but Lazio lost 1-2 on aggregate to Napoli.
In the UEFA Cup, the Biancocelesti had played the first leg of the round of 64 away at Lens, winning 1-0. On September 24 they completed their revenge on the French side, nineteen years after the humiliating 0-6 defeat in extra-time in 1977, by drawing 1-1. In the round of 32 in October it was possibly the beginning of the end for Zeman. Lazio won 1-0 at home against Tenerife and were winning 1-0 away, then drawing 3-3 but managed to lose 3-5 and get eliminated. A very disappointing evening.
Juventus had finished 2nd in Serie A the previous season but had won the Champions League (Ajax on penalties after 1-1 draw) and the Italian Supercoppa (Parma 1-0). The manager was Marcello Lippi.
This season Lippi stayed on. The main arrivals were: defenders Paolo Montero (Atalanta), Mark Iuliano (Salernitana), midfielders Zinedine Zidane (Bordeaux), Raffaele Ametrano (Udinese), forwards Christian Vieri (Atalanta), Nicola Amoruso (Padova) and Alen Boksic (Lazio).
Leaving were: defender Pietro Vierchowod (Perugia), Massimo Carrera (Atalanta), midfielders Paulo Sousa (Borussia Dortmund), Giancarlo Marocchi (Bologna), forwards Gianluca Vialli (Chelsea) and Fabrizio Ravanelli (Middlesbrough).
Juventus had already been proclaimed Italian Champions. The Bianconeri were top of the table on 64 points, four ahead of Parma. Juventus had won 17 (including Lazio 2-0 and Milan 6-1 away), drawn 13 and lost 3.
In Coppa Italia the Bianconeri had been knocked out in the quarter finals by Inter 1-4 on aggregate.
In January/February, Juventus had won the European Super Cup defeating Paris Saint-Germain 9-2 on aggregate
They had however experienced disappointment in the Champions League as on May 28 in Munich they were defeated 1-3 by Borussia Dortmund in the final (with two goals by former Lazio Karl-Heinz Riedle).
Today however was the last game of Serie A so time to celebrate their Scudetto.
The match: Sunday, June 1, 1997, Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin
A rainy day in Turin saw just under 40,000 spectators present to say farewell to yet another Scudetto winning season for the Bianconeri, their 24th.
Lazio had practically the whole squad available while the champions were missing goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, defenders Mark Iuliano and Moreno Torricelli, midfielders Didier Deschamps, Vladimir Jugovic and Zinedine Zidane plus forwards Alen Boksic, Alessandro Del Piero and Michele Padovano, half the team.
Juventus started off aggressively and possibly took Lazio by surprise who expected the Bianconeri to be in a more party mode, as their tricolour hair would suggest. Instead, Juventus attacked and Luca Marchegiani was kept busy by shots by Gianluca Pessotto, Alessio Tacchinardi and Christian Vieri.
Lazio were in difficulty with Diego Fuser and Roberto Rambaudi subdued and the defence struggling to counter Juventus' speed and in particular Attilio Lombardo.
Juventus deservedly took the lead in the 31st minute Nicola Amoruso put in a perfect cross to Vieri who towered above José Antonio Chamot and headed past Marchegiani. Juventus 1 Lazio 0.
Lazio had no reaction of any note and the Bianconeri went to the break a goal up.
There were no changes for the second half and Juventus continued to dominate.
In the 52nd minute they doubled their lead. Ciro Ferrara found Lombardo on the right, the winger crossed low to Amoruso who unmarked had no difficulty scoring from close range (although a puddle slowed it down). All very easy and Juventus 2 Lazio 0.
At this point the Biancocelesti brought on Renato Buso and took off Rambaudi.
Lazio looked more interested and Rampulla had to save twice on Gigi Casiraghi. In the 70th minute the visitors made another substitution, taking off Beppe Signori for Igor Protti. Juventus at the same time replaced Pessotto with youngster IvanoTrotta.
In the 73rd minute Lazio showed signs of life and scored. It was former Juventus forward Casiraghi who, teed up by Buso, smashed in a great right footed shot from the edge of the box. Juventus 2 Lazio 1 and still hope for the Romans.
In the 78th minute Mark Fish, possibly deemed to suit the meteorological conditions better, came on for Beppe Favalli.
Juventus seemed to be increasingly thinking about the celebrations and faded. This was confirmed in the 80th minute when they brought on two youth players, Davide Falcioni and Nicola Cingolani, for keeper Michelangelo Rampulla and defender Ferrara.
Lazio saw an opportunity to take something from the game and they did just that in the 85th minute. Pavel Nedved backheeled to the edge of the area where Protti pounced and at lightning speed went past Paolo Montero, Porrini and then round the keeper before slotting the ball in, a fantastic goal. Juventus 2 Lazio 2.
From then on it was just a countdown until the home side could dive and slide on the wet grass and parade in front of their fans for their umpteenth league title (24th).
A decent game considering the circumstances and slippery pitch and in the end everyone was happy.
Who played for Juventus
Rampulla (80' Falcioni), Porrini, Ferrara (80' Cingolani), Montero, Dimas, Lombardo, Di Livio, Tacchinardi, Pessotto (70' Trotta), Vieri, Amoruso
Substitutes: Bonetto, Vieri II
Manager: Lippi
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Nesta, Chamot, Favalli (78' Fish), Rambaudi (53' Buso), Fuser, Venturin, Nedved, Casiraghi, Signori (70' Protti)
Substitutes: Cudicini, Grandoni, Gottardi, Piovanelli
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Racalbuto
Goals: 31' Vieri, 52' Amoruso, 73' Casiraghi, 85' Protti
What happened next
Lazio finished 4th on 55 points and looked forward to another UEFA Cup campaign. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 15 league goals.
In the longer term for Lazio Sven-Goran Eriksson was on his way and a golden era of success.
Juventus finished two points ahead of Parma and another positive season came to an end. Top scorer was Alessandro Del Piero with 15 goals (8 in A, as Padovano and Vieri).
With Juventus Champions the other verdicts were: Parma to a Champions League preliminary round, Inter, Lazio, Udinese and Udinese in UEFA, Vicenza to the Cup Winners Cup and Reggiana, Verona, Perugia and Cagliari relegated.
Let's talk about Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi was born in Viareggio (Pisa), on April 12, 1948.
His youth football days were spent with Stella Rossa Viareggio. At 21 he joined Sampdoria but spent the season on loan at Savona in Serie C, making 21 league appearances with 2 goals. The "Vecchio Delfino" finished 10th under Vincenzo Rigamonti. One of his teammates was future Lazio Vincenzo Zucchini (1979-80).
In 1970 Lippi returned to Sampdoria where he would stay for nine seasons, the first seven in Serie A and the last two in B. He played a total of 272 games with 8 goals. The Blucerchiati finished 12th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 12th, 11th, 14th (relegated), 8th (in B) and 9th (in B). His managers were: Fulvio Bernardini, Heriberto Herrera, Guido Vincenzi, Giulio Corsini, Eugenio Bersellini, Giorgio Canali and Lamberto Giorgis. His teammates included Lazio connections: Mario Maraschi (1961-64), Rosario Di Vincenzo (1967-72), Roberto Badiani (1974-79,1981-83), Claudio Garella (1976-78), Massimo Cacciatori (1978-85) and Vincenzo Chiarenza (1981-82, 1983).
In 1979 he moved back to Tuscany and joined Pistoiese in Serie B. He stayed two seasons, in the first the "Olandesina" was promoted under Enzo Riccomini while in the second they finished 16th (relegated) under Lido Vieri (Edmondo Fabbri T.D). He played 53 games in Pistoia. He played alongside Lazio Scudetto connections Mario Frustalupi (1972-75) and Sergio Borgo (1973-74, 1975-76) plus Andrea Agostinelli (1975-79), Maurizio Moscatelli (1980-83) and Badiani again.
Lippi's last club was Lucchese in 1981-82). The Panthers were in C2 and finished 4th, first under Lino Petrillo and then Paolo Baldi. Lippi played 23 league games and then retired at 34.
He then became a coach. His early experiences were Pontedera (1985-86, C2, 6th place), Siena (1986-Jan '87, C1, sacked), Pistoiese (1987-88, C2, 8th), Carrarese (1988-89, C1, 7th).
In 1989-90 he had his first club in Serie A, Cesena. The Romagnoli finished 13th. His squad included Lazio connections, Fabio Calcaterra (1985-86), Vincenzo Esposito (1986-88) and Sergio Domini (1990-91). Lippi then started the 1990-91 season but was sacked in January after only 2 league wins out of 17.
In 1991-92 he was back at Lucchese in Serie B and finished 8th.
In 1992-1993 he was back in Serie A with Atalanta and finished 8th. His players included future Lazio, Roberto Rambaudi (1994-98).
In 1993-94 he spent a season with Napoli in A. The Partenopei finished 6th. He coached former Lazio Paolo Di Canio (1987-90) and future Lazio Renato Buso (1996-97) but also future World Champion Fabio Cannavaro.
In 1994 Lippi joined Juventus. He stayed four and a half successful seasons. He won three league titles (1995,1997, 1998), a Coppa Italia, two Italian Supercups, a Champions League (1996 defeating Ajax on penalties), an Intercontinental Cup (1996) and a European Supercup. An exceptional period with players such as Angelo Peruzzi, Ciro Ferrara, Antonio Conte, Vladimir Jugovic, Didier Deschamps, Attilio Lombardo, Edgar Davids, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Alessandro Del Piero, Alen Boksic, Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi to name few. In February of his fifth year, he resigned (due to an under par season with Del Piero injured, friction with some players and the fact that Lippi had already announced he was joining rivals Inter the following season).
His next club was Inter in 1999-2000 and the Nerazzurri finished 4th. The following season he started but was sacked in October. In September Inter lost the Supercoppa 3-4 to Lazio.
In 2001 he returned to Juventus and stayed another three years. He won another 2 league titles (2002, 2003), then came 3rd, plus 2 more Italian Supercoppe.
In June 2004 he became Italy national coach. In 2006 he led the Azzurri to become World Champions in Germany. Italy knocked out the hosts 2-0 in the semi-final and then beat France on penalties after a 1-1 draw. A major feat also considering Italian football was in chaos due to the Calciopoli scandal.
After the triumph he stepped down but then returned in the autumn of 2008. Italy qualified for the South Africa 2010 World Cup but had an extremely disappointing campaign with 2 draws (Paraguay and New Zealand) and a defeat (Slovakia). It is not always a good idea to return somewhere you have enjoyed great success. His final score was 28 wins, 21 draws and 7 defeats
In 2012 he started his Chinese experience. He took on the job at Guangzhou winning three consecutive league titles, a Chinese Cup and the AFC Champions League (2013).
In 2016 he became China national coach. The Dragons failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and in 2019 reached the quarterfinals of the Asia Cup (Iran 0-30). Lippi resigned in 2019 in the middle of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers. His final record with China was 14 wins, 10 draws and 12 defeats.
Lippi then retired and can spend more time sailing his yacht in Viareggio and beyond.
As a player Lippi was a solid defender. He spent most of his career at Sampdoria where he also became captain. He played a total of 369 professional games (222 in A) with 10 goals (5 in A). He won no silverware but in 1980 won promotion to Serie A with Pistoiese.
Despite a good club career, it is as a manager that he will be remembered best. He won the Scudetto five times and a Champions League plus several other cups as aforementioned.
He then won the biggest prize of all, the World Cup, becoming the third Italian in history to do so after Vittorio Pozzo (1934, 1938) and Enzo Bearzot (1982).
His football as a manager was an intelligent mix of old, aggressive Italian play and the more modern and innovative style introduced in Italy by Arrigo Sacchi. Whatever it was exactly, it served Lippi well.
On a final curious note his son Davide is a top football agent, a fact that caused some controversy over the years when Marcello was a manager.
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